Free Pay Stub Template (Preview)

People search for a free pay stub template because they want two things: a layout that looks like a real payroll stub, and a way to fill it in without paying for payroll software. We give you the first for free, with the math filled in, and we're upfront about the part that costs money.

What's free and what isn't

	Free	Paid
Choosing from five original template layouts	Yes
Entering employer, employee, pay and W-4 details	Yes
Live preview with every tax, deduction and YTD figure	Yes, watermarked
Clean PDF, ZIP or JPEG download		$6.99 for one stub
Direct deposit advice slip	Included with every paid stub
Account or subscription	Never required

The preview is not a teaser with blurred numbers. You can check every line before deciding to buy. If the numbers aren't what you expected, you change the inputs and the preview updates.

Blank template vs. calculated template

A blank template is a layout with empty boxes. Every number in it is something you type, so it is only as accurate as your arithmetic. A calculated template fills in the dependent numbers for you.

Field	Blank template	Our template
Gross pay	You multiply rate × hours	Calculated from rate, hours and overtime
Federal income tax	You look it up or guess	IRS Pub. 15-T percentage method, 2025 or 2026
Social Security	You multiply by 6.2% and must remember the wage base	Stops automatically at $184,500 (2026) or $176,100 (2025)
Medicare and Additional Medicare	You multiply by 1.45%, and add 0.9% above $200,000	Calculated
State tax	You type it	Calculated for TX, FL, CA and NY; entered from your payroll records elsewhere
Year to date	You add every prior stub by hand	Your prior totals plus each stub in the order, rolled forward

A common error on hand-built stubs is year-to-date totals that don't match the current amounts. If the current Social Security line is $124.00 every period, the YTD Social Security after five periods has to be $620.00. A blank template won't catch the mismatch. Anyone comparing the stub to a W-2 later will.

What a complete pay stub template should contain

Whatever template you use, it should hold these fields. Several are legally required in some states: California's itemized wage statement list and New York's Section 195(3) list overlap heavily with this checklist.

Field	Why it matters	Where to find the number
Employer's legal name and address	Identifies who paid; required on California and New York statements	Business registration or prior stubs
Employer phone number	Required on New York statements	Business records
Employee name and last 4 of SSN or an employee ID	Identifies the worker without exposing the full SSN	Employee file
Pay period dates and pay date	Ties the pay to a specific span of work	Payroll calendar
Rate(s) and basis (hourly, salary)	Shows how gross pay was built	Offer letter or rate change notice
Hours, regular and overtime	Required for non-exempt workers in several states	Timesheets
Gross pay	Starting point for every tax	Rate × hours, or salary per period
Each tax withheld	Shows the deductions the law requires	Payroll register
Other deductions	401(k), health premiums, garnishments	Benefit elections, court orders
Net pay	What actually reached the employee	Gross minus all deductions
Year-to-date columns	Lenders and landlords read these first	Prior stub YTD plus this period

How to use the preview as your template

1. Open the maker and pick a layout. Changing layouts later doesn't change any numbers.
2. Choose the state, pay frequency, and hourly or salary. The template adjusts its fields: hourly layouts show rate × hours lines, salary layouts show the period amount.
3. Fill in the people, the pay and the W-4 entries. If you're continuing from earlier stubs, enter the prior year-to-date totals so the YTD columns start in the right place.
4. Read the preview line by line. Our guide to reading a pay stub walks through each section, and the abbreviations cheat sheet decodes the short labels.
5. Download when it's right. If you spot an error after paying, corrections are free for 30 days.

When a free spreadsheet really is enough

If you already run payroll in software that produces a payroll register, and you only need to re-format numbers you already have, a spreadsheet can do the job. Copy each figure exactly, including cents, and check that the YTD columns equal the sum of the periods.

If you don't have those numbers, or you need the withholding worked out from a W-4, a calculated template saves you from the errors that get stubs questioned. For a full walkthrough of building one, see our free pay stub maker guide.